Medical professionals and the public cannot afford to be nostalgic or sentimental about the past when it comes to making changes to the way health services are delivered, an NHS leader has warned.

Helen Birtwhistle, the director of the Welsh NHS Confederation, said there needed to be a shake-up of hospital services in Wales in order to provide safe and sustainable services for patients.

But she said that she was concerned that many people were struggling to embrace proposals to centralise some services because of their attachment to certain hospitals or the way systems are currently run.

She said: “We can’t afford to be nostalgic or sentimental about the past. We tend to look back at the health service with fond nostalgia when we think of how the health service should continue to be. But it changes all the time and we have got to embrace this change and make the best of this opportunity. We must not get caught up in the past.”

Throughout 2012, health boards across Wales have put forward proposals on ways to change the way many hospital services are provided, with many being centralised in certain hospitals within the health boards’ regions.

But many of these plans have been met with opposition from the public and some members of the medical profession who fear the removal of services from some locations.

Ms Birtwhistle said it was vital they get the message about why these developments were taking place to as many people as possible, but acknowledged there may always be some who were opposed to change.

She said: “We are working on making the health service better and we have got to help the public see that. I think the message is getting out there and most people are realistic about reconfiguration. A recent survey we did found the majority of people rated high quality treatment over transport time.

“One of the issues is that people may have value for a service for a particular reason such as a past experience, and there are always going to be some people who have set views and it is going to be very difficult to change their minds. Our role is to explain and give the reality of what the health service is trying to do.

“It’s absolutely not about money – if it was just about cutting costs then patient safety and quality of services would not an issue but they are the main key issues. It’s about finding better ways to look after people.

“A huge amount of work has been done in the past year and there are some success stories and we should not forget that. We have come a long way in just 12 months while delivering 5% savings.”

Ms Birtwhistle also said that changes needed to be made to the financial systems used by Health Boards, who have a statutory duty to break even each financial year.

Her comments follow a report released by the Auditor General for Wales last month which predicted the NHS in Wales could end the financial year £70m in the red.

Health Minister Lesley Griffiths has announced an £82m contingency fund to help them deal with “unprecedented pressures” in the system.

The Welsh Government has hinted at moving to a three-year financial system, however an announcement on this is expected to be made by Ms Griffiths in the new year.

Ms Birtwhistle said she would welcome a move to a longer time frame.

She said: “The issue is health boards are trying to meet performance target and financial targets and that becomes a challenge but if we can give more lee-way if would allow more freedom to look ahead and be more responsive. We need more financial flexibility.”

Looking forward to 2013, Ms Birtwhistle said that the NHS Confederation would be supportive while health boards implement the changes to their services.

She said: “For us, as an organisation, it’s about being there to support the health boards and support the leaders of the health services as they drive forward change and go onwards in explaining why they are making these changes and looking ahead to a modern health service.”